Festive season is painful for many
24 December 2004
There is an urgent need for people to realise the hurt in the community
where too many families are grieving for members lost through suicide and
self-harm, according to the Church of Ireland Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev
Alan Harper.
In his Christmas message he said: "I have one group in particular on my
heart this Christmas. There are many families in Belfast and across Northern
Ireland re-living the distress of loss and those for whom they grieve."
He added: "Whether or not the cause of each individual act of desperation
is understood, there is an urgent need for us all to become much more aware
of the frailty and the hurt that is present in our community, and how much
need there is for healing and help."
His prayer, he said, was that the pressures of Christmas would not plunge
others into distress or despair, that those who have known loss and trauma
would find God's comfort, and that the Churches, voluntary groups and the
wider community would come to recognise the need, and would respond with
generosity and imagination. |